Mro Tribal Village Forced to Relocate

Narinjara News
1/3/2007

A Mro tribal village in Mrauk U Township, Arakan State, has been ordered by the army authority to relocate to a new location, as the current location is said to be within an army cantonment area, reported a villager.

The village is known as Nadine, where there are over 60 households that are all Mro tribal families. The village has been at its current location since time immemorial.

A source reported that a commander from Light Infantry Battalion 378 ordered the villagers to shift to another location during December. Despite the army authorities' order, the villagers have not yet moved to a new location as they are currently harvesting paddy on their farms.

The village must be moved by the authorities to another place in the near future because it is currently within an army cantonment area that has been set up in recent years, our source says.

The village is located three miles south of Mrauk U, the ancient city of Arakan, and all of the Mro villagers are Buddhist, said the villager. #

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